Letter: No to ‘fracking’

“For evil to happen all that is necessary is for good men (and women) to do nothing.” — Edmund Burke. It is time for anyone who is opposed to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to ACT. Stop the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. and Kinder Morgan’s plans to construct a pipeline carrying “fracked” gas across our state. Sitting back without voicing our complaint and allowing the pipeline construction condones the use of “fracking.”

How does it make sense to invest in constructing a hugely expensive infrastructure to transport a product that is nonrenewable and the mining of which destroys clean water supplies? Water is a vital resource that is also nonrenewable.

Why are we not investing that money in renewable energy?

Why has “The Haliburton Loophole,” an energy bill exempting gas and oil companies from compliance with clean air and water acts, been allowed?

How can we condone the potential use of eminent domain to obtain the use of conservation land, wild life habitat, human habitat, wet land, and working farms and orchards in order to transport this gas that carries a history of water and air contamination with it?

What about he probable leakage of all the many toxic chemicals that accompany the “fracked” gas along the pipeline route? Air samples, especially near compressor stations along existing pipelines, contain not only methane, but many of the chemicals used in the gas extraction process.

There is a bill banning fracking for 10 years in our state legislation - Bill H3796 currently in the House Ways and Means Committee. In addition, it also calls for a ban of dumping waste water and other waste from fracking in our state (this is really important - Ohio has been a dumping ground for PA fracking waste). Please call your state Reps and Senators to ask them to support this bill and encourage it to come to a vote before July 31. In addition, please sign the petition http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/ban-fracking-in-ma?mailing_id=20804&source=s.icn.em.cr&r_by=6144823

bluebird wrote:

04/09/2014

The Atlantic Monthly talks about how very little supervision or oversight exist in an article from 2013 entitled "No one's really minding the pipeline in your backyard".
Another report (Eric de Place) from www. sightline, retrieved in March of this year, discusses corporate citizenship and community behaviors of KM in its overall operations. One example: "Kinder Morgan subsidiary was convicted of six felony counts related to the Walnut Creek explosion and ordered to pay $15 million in fines." Five people died in a pipeline explosion. This is one of many concerns cited.